DYNAMICALLY TUNABLE BIREFRINGENCE IN PHOTONIC LIQUID CRYSTAL FIBERS

Tomasz R. Wolinski, Slawomir Ertman, Marzena Tefelska, Piotr Lesiak, Andrzej W. Domanski, Roman Dabrowski, Edward Nowinowski-Kruszelnicki

Abstract

The paper discusses polarization phenomena occurring in highly birefringent (HB) solid-core photonic liquid crystal fibers (PLCFs) based on the commercially-available HB Blazephotonics photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and a high-index-glass PCF manufactured by the Institute of Electronics Materials Technology ITME (Poland), both infiltrated with liquid crystals (LCs). We report on the latest experimental polarization characteristics of the host PCFs filled with prototype guest nematic LCs characterized by either extremely low (of the order ~ 0.05) or medium (of the order ~ 0.2) material birefringence. Due to anisotropic properties of the microstructrured PLCFs switching between different guiding mechanisms due to electrically and/or temperature-induced dynamically tuned birefringence has been demonstrated. These results hold great potential for both fiber-optic sensing and in-fiber polarization mode dispersion control and compensation.

Keywords

polarization, birefringence, photonic crystal fiber, liquid crystal

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IMEKO-WC-2009-TC2-695.pdf

DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC2 - Photonics

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